Now that ABC has reached a stopping point with the sophomore year of Once Upon a Time, it's time to open the floor for some discussion. I'm going to format this post as a series of open-ended questions, as I find my best ideas come from conversation and not solitary reflection.
Question the First: What is Rumpelstiltskin's end game?
Yes, we've asked this question repeatedly, but that's because the Dark One's ultimate plan is always in doubt. If Rumpelstiltskin expected Emma to find the ink and defeat Cora, then why did he convince Regina to seal the portal? Was he hedging his bets? Was he attempting to clear the field of his magical rivals? Or is he just blowing smoke up Emma's butt by pretending to run an epic Xanatos Gambit?
Question the Second: What happened to Regina when she absorbed the energy of the seal? And while we're at it, do you buy Regina's supposed reformation?
Regarding the latter query, my answer is a qualified yes. Regina genuinely wants to live up to Henry's expectations. However, I think she will continue to struggle with her impulse to possess and dominate -- and on that score, magic will continue to tempt her.
Question the Third: Is the cast getting too large?
This is something that has worried me since the start of the new season. Now that we've added Hook, Mulan, and Aurora, things might be getting a bit unwieldy. Indeed, until the last few episodes, the plot seemed to lack movement and direction. What should the writers do to tame the wild beast that is this enormous ensemble?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
It is time to cull the herd.
ReplyDeleteCora is about to arrive in Story Brook with Hook. There are some people that need a good killin' in that battle. Not that I'm rooting for the bad guys to WIN per say...but Cora is going to try to convince Regina to go back to her power-accumulating ways. and that is going to have very bad consequences for someone in Story Brook.
Aurora and Mulan are going after a rescue of Philiop and their magical foes are gone to the other world now...we probably won't see them again for a while.
But yes, as of this moment, the cast is too big and some people need to start dying to ratchet up the jeopardy and get the plot moving. I nominate Belle and Cora for that honor (Regina kills her mother against Henry's wishes through the use of magic, the abuse of power causes her to fall off the wagon - Rumplestiltskin is CRUSHED by Belle's death, goes all evil)
Perhaps Cora can kill Hook at some point too...I don't like him much as a character...kind of boring.
As for the dark energy in the portal, I'm guessing that Regina now has that power within her...it will IMHO come out at some point and not in a good way. I'm more interested in an explanation for how the heck Emma protected her heart?
As for the Dark One, I think he is trying to get Bae...he needed the spell to get him to Earth and neutralize his own power (thus giving him a chance to be a father to Bae again and eliminate his magical rivals), he needed Emma to break the spell so Bae could remember who he was...and he needed Emma to defeat Cora and then be killed, so he could wind up without magical rivals and thus feel secure enough to fall back to a normal life. Or so goes the thinking in my head. Unfortunately, Regina is more powerful than ever now...and Emma survived. So...oops.
But yes, as of this moment, the cast is too big and some people need to start dying to ratchet up the jeopardy and get the plot moving.
DeleteAgreed -- because while it may be true in a cosmic sense that good always wins (see also: Jesus Christ), that usually doesn't happen without a great deal of sacrifice -- and quite a few temporary victories for the side of evil (see also: the Crucifixion). Storybrooke needs its Good Friday moment, and now is as good a time as any.
I'm more interested in an explanation for how the heck Emma protected her heart?
I think Rumpelstiltskin explained that at the end when he called her the product of "true love." The only problem? I'm still not feeling the supposed "true love" between Charming and Snow -- and I think that may have something to do with the absence of the jeopardy factor.
As for the Dark One, I think he is trying to get Bae...
Obviously.
he needed Emma to break the spell so Bae could remember who he was...
But Bae didn't get to our world via the curse, so it's possible he didn't forget who he was. Which brings us to another question: Bae, where the hell are you? Personally, I think finding him will be quite difficult, if not impossible. Remember that Rumpelstiltskin is a much older character -- his back story takes place well before everyone else's (as evidenced by the fact that he taught both Cora and Regina everything they know about magic). Consequently, it's likely that Bae emerged in our world in, say, the 1930's and grew up to fight and die in World War II. It all depends on how the parallel universes work.